Cushioning device.



F. 0. KILGORE.

CUSHIONING DEVICE.

APPLIOATION FILED :020.22.1905,

Patented June 8, 1909.

als! 1 3.o.

FREDERICK O. KILGORE, vOF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO KILGORE MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, 0F OLDTOWN, MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

CUSHION ING DE VICE Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented June 8, 1909.

Application led December 22, 1905. Serial No. 292,908.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, FREDEmoK O. KIL- oonn, a citizen of the United States, residing in Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin, in the State of Minnesota, have invented an lmprowinent in Cushioning Devices, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification. like characters on the drawings representing like parts. t

This invention relates to a cushioning device or apparatus especially adapted for use on automobiles and other vehicles for the purpose of reducing to a minimum the evil effects of jars or shocks due to uneven roads and thereby obtain an easier riding vehicle. The invention further has for its object to provide a cushioning` device which does not interfere with the natural movement Within limits of the springs employed to support the body of the vehicle, but which becomes effective to take care of any movement of said springs in excess of their natural movement.

The invention further enables variation in the different body-supporting springs to be compensated for. so that the action of springs of diffe-rent llexibility may be made uniform.

Another feature of the invention consists in providing means for protect-ing the moving parts of the apparatus from the injurious cuttingetl'ect of dust, thereby prolonging the life and effectiveness of the apparatus.

Those and other features of this invention will be pointed out in the claims at. the end of this specification.

Figure 1 represents in perspective a sufficient portion of a vehicle provided with a cushioning device embodying this invention.

Fig. 2, a longitudinal section on an enlarged scale of the cushioning device shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3, a similar section on a smaller scale of the 'device in its closed or contracted position. v

The cushioning device herein shown as embodying this invention, consists of a member a preferably cylindrical in shape which is provided with heads b, `c and contains a piston l having its rod e extended through the head o and secured to the head f of a larger cylindrical member g which is open at one end for the receptionV of the member a. The member g is designed to be secured to the body L of an automobile or other vehicle and the member a to the spring j or it may be to the axle of the vehicle.

The attachment of the member g to .the body /L of the vehicle may be eifected in any suitable manner and preferably as herein shown, so as to obtain a universal joint between the member g and said body. For this purpose the member g is provided with lugs or ears 10 which support a shaft 13 on which is loosely mounted a sleeve 14, through which is extended a stud, shaft or pin 15 on a bracket 16 attached to the body of the vehicle.

The member a is pivotally secured to a bracket. 17 in a similar manner, a sleeve 18 being mounted loosely on a shaft 19 supported .by ears 20 on said member, and the said sleeve being free to turn on a shaft or pin 21 supported by the bracket 17. The sleeves 14, 18 are thus capable of turning on their shafts in two directions substantially at right angles to each .'other.

Thepist-on d within the member a moves with the member g, and provision ismade for an elastic cushion for the said piston as it approaches the end of its movement in opposite directions. The elastic cushion referred to, is formed by closed chambers 25, 2G. between the heads o, o of the member a and the piston el (see Figs. 2 and 3), Whereby a body of elastic fluid, such as air, may be confined between said piston and the head toward which it is moved, thereby limiting the movement of the piston in opposite directions and preventing the piston striking the 1 said heads and insuring stopping of the piston and the Vload attached to it, in the present instance, thebody of the vehicle and its passengers or other contents, in an easy and effective manner with the least possible jar or shock.

The closed chambers 25, 26 formed by the heads-c, b and the piston n? when the latter reaches a predetermined point in its stroke in opposite directions may be supplied wlth air when the piston -reachesa predetermined point in its movement in the opposite direction, and this may be accomplished byestablishing communication between the space or portion of the cylinder a on one side of the piston CZ andthe portion of said cylinder on the` opposite side of said piston or with the atmosphere. v

It is preferred to provide for the passage of air or other elastic medium from one side portion of the stroke of the piston, namely,

of the piston d to the other during a limited from the point of cut-olf near one end of the cylinder or member a to the point of cut-off near the opposite end thereof, and this result may be accomplished by means of one or more grooves or channels formed on the inner circumference of the cylinder a. and constituting vents or ports.

As represented in Fig. 2, the vents 30 are cut o by the piston from the chamber 25,

consequently further movement of the piston Ibody of air -or Vother elastic fluid` consequently severe jars or shocks to the body of the vehicle and its load are` avoided.

The vent port or ports 30' permit the passage of air back and forth from one side of the piston to the other to balance the same, and, therefore, the piston is free to respond to the natural movement of the springs Within the limits of the points of cut-oi', thereby cnabling'the body under normal conditions to respond to the springs 7', which may be made of minimum lightness and maximum'v `evibility, inasmuch as any vibration or movement of the spring' beyond the normal is immediately taken care of by the confined air cushions. By making the ports or vents of different length or arranging port-s or vents of the same length so that one extends beyond the other, the movement of the body of the vehicle may be stopped gradually.

By proportioning the size of the vents or ports 30, to the strength or stiffness of the spring which supports the load, the action of fthe air cushion on springs of different flexibility may be controlled 'so as to have all the springs act in a uniform manner, and so also excessive vibration of some of the springs may be controlled by the sizeof the vents. n I may prefer to make the vents or orts 30 on the inner circumference of the cy inder a, as such construction enables the cylinder or hollow member a to be closed air-tight, but I do not desire tov limit my invention in this respect, as the cylinder or member a may be vented tothe atmosphere at a point intermediate of where the dead end chambers are formed b the piston, as for instance, as

illustrate by the dotted line port or passage 35 made in the piston rod e, one mouth of which is adapted to be closed by a packmg sleeve 36, when the piston has reached a predetermined point in vits up-stroke.

, The packing sleeve 36 is provided with'a flange or rim 37 `at, one end which fits inte an annular recess 38 in the head c and the free end of said sleeve is rounded lor beveled on its outer side as at 40, so that when the piston is moved toward the head c to form the closed chamber 25, the pressure of the air will act on the exterior beveled end of the packin sleeve and force it against the piston r thus securing an air-tight joint around the said rod.

Provision is also made for preventing dust from accumulating on the iston rod, which might in time cut the pac ing and thereby necessitate replacing of the same at a considerable cost and inconvenience, and for this urpose, I employ-a hood or covering 41 ofp leather, cloth, rubber or other flexible or collapsible material, which surrounds thc piston rod e within the cylinder g, and which responds to the movement of the cylinder g. In the present instance, the hood or dust guard 41 is made conical in form and its upper end is attached to a ring 42 which rests upon a washer 43 on the piston rod e, and the lower end of said dust guard or hood is attached to a ring 44 which is snapped into an annular recess or groove 45 in the head c and retained therein by a liange 46. In Fig. 2, the hood or dust guard 41 is shown as inits extended condition, and in Fig. 3 in its collapsed condition, and in both it. will be observed that the' port-ion of the piston rod within the cylinder g is inclosed by the hood and thus protected from dust which might ain access to the cylinder a.

The admission of dust linto the cylinder g may be guarded against by means of a rin 50 of felt or other suitable material locate in an annular groove in the outer circumference of the cylinder a and making contact with the inner circumference of the .outer cylinder g, the said ring also serving as an anti-rattler.

While it is preferred to make the cylinder a closed to the atmosphere and thereby avoid the injurious effects of the dust upon the parts Within said cylinder, it is not desired to limit the invention in this res ect, as the advantages of the dead air cham ers at the opposite ends of the cylinder a may be obtainedin an apparatus in which the said cylinder communicates with the air through the ports 52, 53 indicated by dotted lines inV the cylinder a., but it is not desired to limit the invention in this respect., as a liquid may be employed, in which case the vents 30 are extended to the opposite ends of the cylinder 5 and are made decreasing toward their ends.

The ports 30 may also be made tapering or decreasing at their ends as shown in Fig. 2 when air is employed.

l. In an apparatus of the character de scribed, in combination, a cylinder closed at its sides and ends and provided on its i11- terior with a longitudinally extended. groove or channel,'a piston vlocatedin said cylinder 15 and cooperating with said groove to form closed chambers at the opposite ends of said ,cylinder, said groove affording a vent passage from one side of the said piston to the other while the piston is located at points 2O intermediate the ends of said cylinder, a piston rod extended through one end of said cylinder, a second cylinder connected to said piston rod and into which the first mentioned cylinder is extended, and a dust guard or hood encircling the piston rod within the second cylinder, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a cylinder closed at its ends, a piston therein having its rod extended through one end, and a dust guard surroumlmg said piston rod outside of said .cylinder and movable toward and from the said cylinder as the piston rod is moved into and out of said cylinder, and means for supportingsaid guard to` permit it. to be turned freely about saidr piston rod, substantially as described.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, a cylinder closed at its sides and ends, a piston within said cylinder, a piston rod for said cylinder extended through one end thereof and provided with a passage communicating at one end outside of said cylinder and having its other end removed from said piston and arranged to be closed rby the end of the cylinder through which it 

